Golf IV / Jetta IV :: Brand New Alternator Bad?
Jul 20, 2015
I had a battery light come on and saw the alt wasnt charging my battery. So, I replaced the alt with a rebuilt hitachi. Well it was charging at 14.10 and thought all was well til I went out this weekend and was stranded. Tested the alt with my voltmeter and sometimes its 14 and sometimes the battery drops below 12. I charged the battery up overnight and its holding a good charge. I REALLY dont wanna drop this alternator out again so is there anything else I should check? Im getting the battery tested anyway.
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2001 MK4 GTI VR6 put brand new coil pack, wires and plugs in the car because it was misfiring. Was fine for about a week than I got a clogged cat code and could feel the affects. I now have no cat, no resonator, and no muffler. The car is finally driving good and then the check engine light came back. It says only a misfire in Cylinder #3 and when accelerate hard to speed up my check engine light starts to blink until I stop accelerating hard. So my guess is the clogged cat caused that cylinder to misfire but I do not know the actual solution to this. My EVAP hose is semi-pinched and when u squeeze it you can almost kill the engine. The weirdest thing of all is this: driving normal I shift in between 2000 and 3000 RPM and once i get into 4th gear about 2000 RPM......my car starts shaking badly and i feel like my engine is going to fall out. I have searched and the only thing i can think of is a bad injector...
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After changing my dead alternator and resulting dead battery, I am having what seems to be electrical issues with my 2.8L VR6.
Neither of my keys can unlock or lock the car remotely and when I try to start the car, all the regular lights turn on in the dash, but the engine dosn't make a sound. Inside the car there is no power apart form the gauges, no windows, no AC, no sunroof, nothing. I have checked the fuses, unplugged the battery and plugged it back in, even changed the batteries in my keys to make sure that they weren't out, and nothing works. I have also tried to reprogram both keys and neither of them unlock the doors.
I think that it might have something to do with the anti-theft system, since I didn't touch anything while changing out the alternator.
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My car is a 2.0 AEG manual for reference.
So, my alternator died last night and when I changed it this morning, I fired her up and now when I turn my light switch one click I can see my high beam light illuminated on the dash. If I have the switch on any setting, it's illuminated but no lights are on out front except the dtr lights. Turn signals work fine and so do the brake/tail lights. I checked the fuses for both low/high beams but they were fine. I saw someone mention an ignition switch while I was searching but I'd rather get other opinions whether it is that or not.
Edit: My original test drive the car ran fine minus the headlight issue. But upon driving it through the city when I was coming to a stop at a redlight the battery light came back on and it died. It fired right back up and barely made it across the street to a parking lot before it died again. It'll fire up but won't stay on. On my way to an parts store for charging system check.
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Been the proud owner of a '04 Golf for a few years but it hasn't been without its share of hiccups. I recently had my battery die on me. Got the car looked at and apparently the alternator was the culprit, ie, it wasn't functioning and re-charging the battery. Swapped out the OEM for a rebuilt Bosch 120A (my car is a 2.0GL, so it's supposed to be 90a default, but I looked online and saw that I could use the 120). Even put in a new battery as the old one was past its prime. Now the new alternator (which was not fun to install) isn't working either. I had a different mechanic look at it and they said that while the auto shop gave me the right part number, that apparently VWs are hinky with aftermarket parts and I'd have to take it to a VW dealer for a diagnostic? Makes no sense as I've seen tons of people online who've used aftermarket alternators with no problem.
So now the car essentially is dead in the water. Battery light comes on when the car is started and I'm not tempted to not drive the car anywhere out of fear that the new battery will die in mid-traffic. I've checked the grounds, pulley, etc, everything looks fine and connected proper. What could be going on?
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I am having a really curious issue with the charging system on my 1999 Golf VR6. The battery will not charge and the alternator seems to be nonfunctional. While running the voltage at the battery starts normal but drops until the engine dies within 20 minutes. Over the last two days I have replaced the alternator, battery, and the battery grounding cable with no change in behavior. The exciter wire on the alternator is showing 9 volts when the vehicle is running and 0 when it is off. There is 1.6 ohms of resistance between the B+ terminal on the battery and the respective terminal on the alternator. There is 0.3 ohms of resistance between the B- battery terminal and the case of the alternator. My task for tomorrow is to trace the exciter wire back to the cluster and try to troubleshoot it there.
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I had a rebuilt alternator installed on Thursday and for the past two days when I start up the car there is a high pitch whine coming from what I believe is the alternator. Do some rebuilt alternators make noise when charging the batter after start-up? The alternator has a 3-year warranty and I'm going back to the shop tomorrow.
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I have a 2000 VW Golf 2.slow. I have done some research from other threads but I'm wondering if mine is a simpler fix then testing all the wiring. After taking the car to Auto-Zone and having my battery and alternator tested they said the alternator was the problem. I had to wait a day to get paid to buy the alternator so I had them charge the battery. After I put the battery back in and started her up I got a flashing e-brake light, ABS light and no A/C. My A/C clutch compressor isn't kicking in either. I checked my brake fluid and it's fine as well.
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So im trying to diagnose my girlfriends issue with her car. When she starts it, the car will make a very loud rattling sound, not really grinding, but like metal on metal contact. Sometimes the sound goes away, but when the car is cold it is a guarantee. The battery light is also on, which was not the case when the rattle first started. I first thought (and hoped) it was perhaps the serpentine belt tensioner as I researched that when it fails it can make a loud rattle sound.
Once replaced, the same issues occurred. So I went ahead and put the old one back on since it was not the issue. Note that the old one and new one both shared the same tension applied to the belt and the pulley was still smooth without issues.
Using a stethoscope to try to determine the location of the rattle a bit more precisely I found the noise to be coming more from the alternator. Weird because I recently replaced it within the last year. I went ahead and removed the tension from the belt and played with the alternator for a bit. The clutch felt good when i used a screw driver to hold the fan and tried to move the pulley. One direction moved with ease while the other direction refused to budge, perfectly normal as I researched. The thing that I noticed that I thought was unusual was the fact that the shaft of the alternator had some play (Video below).
The belt has plenty of tension on it so i do not believe that it is slipping on the alternator. I push the belt with the tensioner engaged and the tensioner does not budge.
I decided to measure the voltage coming off the alternator with the car running and it was at 10.95 which im pretty sure is very low for these cars.
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I own a 2002 Jetta 1.8T now here is my story.
A week ago whiles driving lost power when accelerating, EPC light illuminates so I turned on my hazard light and limped home since I was far away from home. As I limped home, all the lights on the dash went off. I got home, shut engine off, restarted the car but car wont accelerate.
I popped the hood and saw the dreaded melted fuse box on top of battery with charred alternator cable. I ordered the fuse box and alternator cable and prepared to replace them.
I realized that with the driver side door open with no key in ignition, I could hear a clicking sound with inside lights blinking. Didn't worry because I believed it had to do with the melted fuse box and charred alternator cable. I noticed that the clock was off too.
I replaced.the fuse box and alternator cable. My battery is just a year old so when I tried starting the car and it won't crank, I tried to jump start it but no sound. Car won't start. Dead silence,no click nothing.
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Just purchased a 2014 Yukon XL it is has a bit of hesitation upon acceleration. Did not think much about initially but it is a bit bothersome. I have an 02 Suburban and never had that issue. I did also notice the same issue when test driving a 2014 Suburban.
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My 2009 Kia Spectra won't start when the weather is extremely cold. I live in NH, right on the coast, and the car's parking spot affords it no protection from strong winds that we get here and therefore low temps. There was a cold spell with winds roughly a month ago and the following morning the car wouldn't start. the electronics inside still worked, but it didn't start. When it warmed up later that day it started up normally. the same series of events has been repeating itself over this last bit of cold weather, so I replaced the battery (upgrading from 550 CCA to 650 CCA). II went to start it this morning and once again, it won't start. I've had an oil change with all the fluids checked and replaced or filled just a couple days ago. The car will start in the morning with jumper cables. What might be going on here?
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Took 06 GS300 to dealership for no start. They say it might be the starter and replaced it, and it wasn't the starter. Frustrated, I pulled it from the dealership, took it to a mechanic i have a little faith in. He was unsuccessful. He mentioned that he was able to get it to start briefly, but quickly died. I guess he bypassed alot of electrical stuff.
Everything seems fine, until I press the ignition and get nothing. No warnings, nothing. One thing to note, I had a problem keeping the negative battery terminal on. After a great deal of use, it would slightly slip off the battery, so i would have a dead car. I would just tighten and drive on, then it would slip again. I say cause I think maybe something got zapped.
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I have a brand new 2012 BMW 650, production date Nov 2011, and took delivery in December 2011. The low oil light indicator came on at 3300 miles 4 months later. Took it to the dealership and I reported to the service advisor that the car had a clanky (like a fan was hitting it's surrounding metallic covering) noise for 1-2 seconds on cold start and then disappears. I also told them that there was excessive soot noted on the passenger side exhaust tip. I was told by the dealership that this was normal oil consumption.
The dealership put in one quart of oil and told to monitor the oil consumption. At near 6600 miles and 3 months later the low oil light indicator came on again. Took it back to the dealership and the service advisor told me everything was normal and again added another quart of oil. The odometer is now at 8500 miles and the oil level indicator shows half full at 1900 miles later. I keep my cars for a long time and the first oil change is at 15,000 miles. I am sure I don't want to mess with adding a quart of motor oil every 3-4 months. I would not have bought this car if I was told or made aware that this was normal oil consumption.
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Just took my brand new GX460 with 1000 miles on a road trip. I found the vehicle drifts heavily to the right, so much so that I have to even hold the steering wheel several degrees to the left to make the car go straight. I drove my other cars on the same road and they are not as bad and generally go straight. Is this possible? Can a new SUV of this price come out of the factory misaligned?
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So, upon taking my car in for a dead wheel and tire due to pothole incident, I was told that my alternator needs to be replaced. I am in a bit of shock as the car is only 2 years old and only has 16,000 miles.
The service advisor that I spoke with states that it could break as a result of charging a dead battery. This confounds me more, as I thought jump starting a car was not an operation that would take out an alternator.
Luckily this is a repair covered under warranty, whether or not this was a valid reasoning for the failure or an alternator. If so, what have been supposed to do if battery dies?
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I purchased a brand new 09 LS 460 a few weeks ago - it is an amazingly beautiful car and a joy to look at.
Unfortunately, I think I have the dreaded wind noise problem, as there is very noticeable wind noise above about 65 mph - it gets pretty bad when it is really windy outside.
I love driving the car and have a long daily commute - however, this issue it starting to bother/annoy me and I find it takes away from my enjoyment.
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My 2006 Honda Civic LX has 120,000 miles. About a month ago I stopped for gas, and when I got back into the car, it wouldn't start. It cranked a couple times but then after a couple tries that stopped. The power all came on as normal (lights, radio, everything with no dimming), but the engine wouldn't go all the way. I got a jump and things were fine for a couple of weeks, then it did it to me again, following a brief stop in the grocery store after my highway commute home. Again, jumped the car and went home.
After four days with no sign of trouble, it happened again at the gas station. I then took it to a mechanic who spent 2 days with it and declared my problem a mystery. He couldn't get the car to not start for him and said my battery, alternator, fuses, everything he looked at seemed fine. He thinks it could be the starter but couldn't be completely sure enough to do such expensive work. I also let it sit for two days to see if there was a battery drain, but it started up just fine after sitting for those two days. I did notice that it seems to not want to start the day or two after I use my headlights. Now, 5 days since the last episode, it's starting but the crank is a little slow. My battery is one month old. I'm at a loss and don't want to throw money at the problem without knowing. I'm tired of driving everywhere afraid to turn the car off, too.
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Did a complete rear brake job on a 90 Ranger including a pair of Pronto brake drums. Here are some videos of the problem.
Wheel and tire with new brake drum. Bad wobble.
Wheel and tire with brake drum - YouTube
Wheel and tire installed without brake drum. No wobble.
Wheel and tire without brake drum - YouTube
Brake drum only. Bad wobble
Brake drum - YouTube
Bare axle. No wobble.
Bare axle - YouTube
So is it safe to conclude the brake drum is bad? The other side is worse. I cleaned the axle surface so its flat. Wheels and tires are new.
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I've got the the alternator workshop on my screen and the battery light, again. I've replaced the battery (it was bad) and it drove fine for about 15 min then it came back again. Now it comes back under load (accelerating, revving). The car starts fine now but after a lil but of driving, the car idles high (1k rpm) instead of the 500-700 rpm. I turn the car off and it will go back to the normal idle. I've obviously read about a poss bad alternator but I've read about loose alternator belts. Fixing this issue with tightening the belt or has everyone just replaced the alternator?
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Since it rained here in Socal today...i got the dreaded "Alternator Workshop" message on my console...It showed up for a split sec just enough time for me to read it. I had just finish installing my Evoms Vflow intake so I started my car and rev'd a few times before the message showed up. It quickly disappeared right after it showed up. I've been reading that the belt could be wet from the rain causing this message or definitely my alternator is bad.
What should I be checking to make sure everything is ok? My car only has 41k miles and it has been sitting for almost 2 weeks.
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